2015 is the United Nations International Year of Soils: Northern Research Station Science Provides Decades of Data on Forest Soils

Soil sustains life — all terrestrial plant life depends on nutrients and water from the soil, and all terrestrial animals, including humans, depend on the food web that is based on plants growing in soil. To emphasize the importance of soil and initiate new programs, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has designated 2015 as “The International Year of Soils.” As “the lungs of the earth,” forests and their soils provide important ecosystem services, such as providing oxygen, sequestrating carbon, and cleaning water and air, as well as providing economic products, especially lumber and recreation.